Last year, Lt. Hierl became the first woman to pass the Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course, a physically and mentally demanding 13-week program in Quantico, Virginia.
Now, Hierl is the first and only woman to lead an infantry platoon in the Marines.
Hierl, 24, leads about 35 men in the Third Platoon of the 4th Marines’ Echo Company, Second Battalion. They are currently in Northern Australia, where they are in the middle of several months of training.